Steel Magnolia

Saturday, August 11, 2018

by Patience (aka “my Alpha”)

In August of 2005, there came a great storm along our southern states. It destroyed many communities and displaced countless families, leaving approximately 1500 people dead in its wake. 

We watched the video footage from the storm-ravaged region in horror. Sheer devastation. Houses marked with a red spray-painted “X” to indicated no one was there to be evacuated. Whole neighborhoods were later torn down because of the overwhelming and irreparable destruction. 

One really good thing came from this storm: Maggie. She was found somewhere along the Mississippi gulf coast and crated northward along with multiple other displaced dogs. One thing led to another and she ended up on a farm outside of Lexington. She was thin. She was frightened. She was withdrawn. And she was precious. 

Lizzie and I brought this Hurricane Katrina dog home in November 2005 and she changed our lives. 

At first she was so reserved that I thought she might be deaf. I began to wonder what was going on in her head. If she could talk, what could she tell us? Do our accents sound different than her owners’ in southern Mississippi? Does inland air smell different?  What does post-traumatic stress disorder look like in a dog? What had she done to survive this ordeal? Does she have nightmares about it? Would she ever be happy again?

Because she was found in Mississippi (the Magnolia State) and she had exhibited such fortitude to survive, I named her Steel Magnolia. Over time I watched her bud open up and become a beautiful blossom. 

I would never know the answers to my questions about her ordeal. But my imagination could fill in the gaps. So it did. And with that, the concept for “Magnolia Blossoms” was born — a children’s book written from Maggie’s perspective about her new life and the characters in it. 

Steel Magnolia was the perfect name for this girl. She was so strong physically and mentally. And, although she was a mixed breed and not necessarily the most beautiful dog in the world, she truly blossomed in her new environment. She loved us and we loved her. 

Unfortunately, just like the Magnolia in our side yard, Maggie began to fade over time and we laid her to rest in March of 2015. She had placed her mark on our lives and we will be forever thankful that she bloomed here with us.